As much as I love my greens,
I am certainly not a green thumb! So when it comes to our garden I always
pick easy to grow, hearty plants that can tolerate a beginner like me. Mint is
one of my best friends in this regard. Early this spring, we planted a small
pot of mint and within a few weeks it was brimming over the pot, literally
crawling it’s way into our kitchen. We decided to make it a feature in our new
food of the week: Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Feature Recipe: Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps from
The Family Dinner

The Family Dinner has become
one of my go-to books for easy, family friendly recipes. I can always rely on
the fantastic Laurie David to come through with dinner suggestions that my
whole family will love. Her recipe for healthy chicken lettuce wraps is no
exception. We simplified the recipe a bit to work with what we already had in
the pantry. Here’s how we made them:

1)Heat a wok, then
add the vegetable oil, garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.

2)Add chicken
stock, then the chicken, breaking it up into small pieces until browned.

3)Add the fish
sauce and mix well. Sauté a few minutes longer.

4)Transfer the
cooked chicken to a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the chicken
filling and mix well.

5)Serve the
fixings in individual bowls and let each person build their own wrap. Include a
side of spicy green beans for an extra boost of color.

Crunch a Color Kids Vote: It’s a wrap!

What we liked: It’s flexible and fun! We started out with the Thai version of Laurie’s
dish. With a simple tweak of the ingredients, swapping salsa for the fish sauce
and including black beans in the mix, we created another version of this easy
dish that was perfect for our Mexican fiesta night.

What is your favorite easy weeknight dish? Do tell!

Next up: ArtichokesDespite their prickly
appearance, artichokes were a winner at our table. Next week, we’ll feature an
easy recipe that will make artichokes a welcome guest at your family dinner too!

About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom
of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s
giving back to support non-profit children’s nutrition programs including Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution and FoodCorps. Watch her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the game.
Follow @crunchacolor on Facebook and Twitter to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.

Comments

Jennifer on May 08 2012 at 11:01PM

Can’t wait to hear how they turn out for you. Another easy twist is to make them with tofu. This recipe is very flexible — lots of fun options!

Char on May 08 2012 at 10:45PM

Sounds Delish!!! I can’t wait to try them, i like the variety of options too, love fresh mint! Yum~